The Tao of Muhammad Ali

This book, by Davis Miller, tells the story of his friendship with Muhammad Ali, which started with a chance encounter in the late 1980s and spanned many years after that.

Or so it suggests from the blurb.

But Miller says it's important for the reader to understand his own story, as well as how it intersected with Ali's, so he basically relates his entire autobiography from childhood, up to the mid-90s, when the book was published. And that story is pretty interesting, as well as being well-written. I liked Miller as both a narrator and a character in his own story, and I enjoyed finding out about his home life, his family, and his aspirations as a writer.

And all the stuff about Ali was interesting too.

But I'm not sure what to think of the book as a whole. Miller makes a point of expressing Ali's frustration with certain people wanting to capitalise on his fame and use their connection to him for their own ends. And that's basically exactly what Miller does - building his writing reputation by writing articles about Ali and his close knowledge of him. It even goes so far as to relate an incident where Miller took a photographer to Ali's farm for a photoshoot to accompany one of his articles, and Ali commented on how much he hated posing, and that he was only doing it as a personal favour to Miller.

So, while I enjoyed aspects of the book, it did leave me feeling a bit ambivalent about its worth and motivations.